Surf Life Saving is more than saving lives on the beach. We aim to reach out to all Australians through education and community programs.

Public education

As Australia’s major water safety and rescue authority, we aim to teach all Australians about beach and water safety. We do this through public education campaigns on things such as rip currents, rockfishing, and multilingual surf safety. Visit our Be safe website section for fact sheets and information on beach and surf safety.

School education

Teaching the youth of today about beach and water safety can help them to protect their life, but maybe even save a life of their own.

Surf Life Saving has developed a cross curricula resource for primary schools called Surf’s Up which contains worksheets, lesson plans and activities for use by primary school teachers to teach about surf safety.

We also reach out to rural children through our Telstra Beach to Bush program, which involves trained surf lifesavers, armed with beach signs, safety flags and rescue boards, travel to regional and remote schools to teach about beach and aquatic safety. Since 2003, the Telstra Beach To Bush program has travelled more than 100,000 kilometres and addressed over 135,000 students in over 1,000 schools.

Inclusion

We are an all inclusive organisation that offers something for all Australians, regardless of your gender, age, cultural background or physical ability.

Our On the Same Wave program, in partnership with the Australian Government, provides support to young Australians of all backgrounds, to become part of the beach experience. It is currently being rolled out across surf life saving clubs nationwide.

We are also part of the Sport Connect program, run by the Australian Sports Commission, which aims to provide greater access to sport for people with disabilities.

Environment

As home to one of the world’s most stunning coastlines, the responsibility of caring for this precious natural treasure is ours.  The consequences of climate change, destruction of coastal ecosystems and lack of respect for beach environments place our prized possession under threat.  

Ecosurf is a surf life saving program which promotes protection of coastal biodiversity and our beaches. Our surf lifesavers and clubs are actively working with corporate and government partners to protect Australia's ecologically sensitive coastal environment.

Striving for more efficient water and energy use within clubs, campaigns to reduce litter and protect wildlife on our beaches and working with suppliers to support the development of cleaner, greener rescue equipment, are all examples of our ambition to be eco friendly.

For further information on community education programs contact Anthony Bradstreet at SLSA.